Founded in Vienna in 2019, the Chaos String Quartet has quickly made its mark on the international music stage. In 2023-24 they took part in the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme's Chamber Music in Residence course and here they share their experience of working and performing at Britten Pears Arts.

“When we applied for our residency as part of the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme, our motivation was to find a calm environment to develop our new programme centered on the theme of chaos. We also found the idea appealing to be able to try out our chaos programme in front of a curious and open-minded audience and receive the first reactions to our concept.

As we arrived at Aldeburgh, we were immediately taken by the beauty of the landscape and the sea.

Soon we discovered the different small shops and delis of the town. A mug was bought at the charity shop, books on women composers and black holes at the bookshop, smoked fish at the beach, soups, veggies, sausages and cinnamon swirls at our favorite deli, butcher and bakery.

At Snape Maltings, the visits to THE cheese shop became daily after a while. We tested everything available from the region – from Suffolk blue and gold over local goat cheese to smoked dapple. How our voracious cheese consumption affected our interpretation of Ligeti’s Second String Quartet, is yet to be discovered.

We were lucky enough to have several sunny days next to the – erm – rather rainy ones. These were perfect for walks on the Sailor’s Path or on the beach. The latter turned into a daily routine for all four of us.

So far, it might seem we spent our days solely with food and hikes! Of course, most of our time was spent with hard work in the form of practicing, rehearsing, and arranging. We played two fully sold out concerts, one in Snape during our first week and one in Aldeburgh at the end of our stay. Already after the first concert we were impressed by the enthusiasm of the audience. We could truly experience Snape Maltings as a cultural centre and a place where the audience and musicians can meet without the usual barriers.

The first concert was a classical program with quartets by Fanny Hensel and Beethoven, the second one was the first attempt at our newly-developed chaos programme. We were rather nervous for that one, to be honest, as the Ligeti as well as our arrangements were very freshly baked, so to say. In the last couple of days we were lucky to work with Garth Knox, who helped us organise the Ligeti as well as giving us much-needed confidence and calmness, both vital when trying to play a piece that at times seems nigh-on unplayable.

The reaction of the audience was overwhelmingly positive. We were very relieved and encouraged to follow this path of conceptual programming further. The hard work of those two weeks definitely paid off!

We are utterly thankful for having been given the chance of this residency. The work we got done in Snape as well as the inspiration and encouragement we received will nourish us for many more months. Not to mention the cheeses!”

Find out more about Chaos String Quartet or explore the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme.